Veteran Air Force 'Warrior' To Challenge Rep. John Carter's Seat

AUSTIN, TX -- In 2009, MJ Hegar's medevac helicopter was shot down by Taliban forces in Afghanistan. She was piloting the chopper as it was shot out of the air and is reported to have saved three lives that day even after being shot herself by enemy fighters.

She was awarded the Purple Heart for her wounds as well as the Distinguished Flying Cross with a Valor Device, meaning she showed valor in combat. She's the second woman ever to earn the Cross with a Valor Device.

Now, the Air Force veteran is challenging Republican incumbent John Carter (R-Round Rock) for the seat of the 31st Congressional District. Carter has held the seat since 2002.

Her book, "Shoot Like a Girl: One Woman's Dramatic Fight in Afghanistan and on the Home Front," received praise from Sen. John McCain, who said she has "established her warrior credentials" and called the story "remarkable." The book chronicles her experiences in Afghanistan and in the U.S. fighting for equal treatment of women in combat.

Hegar was an outspoken advocate against the Combat Exclusion Policy, which prohibited women from serving in ground combat roles in the military. In 2012 she led a lawsuit against the Department of Defense in Hegar v. Panetta, calling for the abolition of the Combat Exclusion Policy. Now, women can serve in combat units.

"I see a threat to our Constitution, our democracy," Hegar said in a recent interview with the Texas Tribune. "... I feel compelled to do something more about it."

Hager describes herself as an independent Democrat. Her campaign website says her three major priorities are families, freedom and defense. She supports affordable health care as a basic right, a living minimum wage, wage equity and a strong educational system.

"It's core to the soul of our country that we be free to love whomever we choose, practice the religion of our choice or none at all, remain in control of decisions made about our own bodies, and live free from oppression, fear, and intimidation," her website says.

As for defense and foreign policy, she said "Practicing isolationism, alienating allies, enacting travel bans, and creating a divided nation only serve to weaken us and our place on the world stage."

He policies are generally moderate. She supports the 2nd Amendment, as many veterans do, but also promotes common-sense gun legislation, she said. "We take responsibility for whose hands those guns get into," she told the Tribune.

She announced her candidacy on July 6.

Article image via MJForTexas.com